Farmers with exceptionally heavy loads on their off-road/on-road trucks might consider Link’s new 85K Air Link Tandem Drive Chassis Suspension, which the company claims is North America’s highest-capacity air-spring suspension system. The 85K was first developed for the U.S. military and was released to the commercial and agricultural sectors at CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2020 in Las Vegas […] Read more
Ron Lyseng
Stories by Ron Lyseng
Getting the exact rate of liquid fertilizer
ExactRate is John Deere’s new factory-installed liquid fertilizer application system for farmers who want to apply liquid fertilizer during planting and who want precise nutrient placement from their planters. This factory-installed option monitors and controls the application of liquid fertilizer during planting, said Deere’s Brady Alley. He explained that the system shuts off flow in […] Read more
Sound the alarm on barn fires
More than 740,000 Canadian livestock died in barn fires from 2015-19; there were 65 fatal fires a year on average
The terrified bellowing of burning cattle. The devil’s high-pitched scream of panicky pigs on fire. The frantic neighing of burning horses. These are sounds of animals trapped inside a burning barn. The sounds never go away for those firefighters and farmers who have heard the haunting howls of livestock dying in a burning barn. For […] Read more
You don’t hear many stories about burning barns being saved
Barn fires are often difficult to fight because of the long distances between farms and firefighters, and a limited supply of water on farms
There were 327 reported barn fires in Canada from 2015-19. Exact cause was determined in only one-third of them. Some are still under investigation. In many barn fires, evidence is lost in the blaze because of intense heat. Unfortunately, it often takes too long for rural firefighters to arrive on the scene. By the time […] Read more
Steps can be taken to protect barns
Are your barns safe from the trauma a fire would bring? To reduce these tragedies, Humane Society International/Canada is calling on governments to legislate better safety criteria for confined animals. There are things an individual farmer can do to be in compliance with proposed safety standards, said Riana Topan, farm animal welfare specialist for the […] Read more
Steel meets soil, once again, but different
New generation plows are available for our changing chemical-free world as some farms return to metal weed control
As some farms gradually migrate away from chemical control of plant disease, weeds and insects, farmers have little choice but to revert to some level of cultivation. Steel meets soil, again. There’s an emerging demand for innovative new generation technology to deal with this challenge. In response, Lemken has introduced their new line of Juwel […] Read more
Feel your pulse next winter, it might be rising
Winter lentils and winter peas, great new tools for a rotation and potentially the farm’s bottom line
In some areas, farmers managed to get their crop harvested last year, then seeded fall rye or winter wheat. Given our spring conditions so far, they are the lucky few. It’s a classic case of how the insurance policy works when you have a viable crop waiting to grow sequestered under the snow, said Ken […] Read more
COVID-19 impacts agricultural research
COVID-19 is forcing agricultural researchers into a quandary. Much of the specialized white protective gear normally worn when dealing with chemicals is also in demand from the medical community. “Researchers are in a moral dilemma,” according to Tom Wolf, proprietor of Agrimetrix in Saskatoon. His company specializes in conducting research on spray applications. Obviously, Wolf […] Read more
Mars’ loss is our Earth’s gain
When we think drones, we envision UAV fixed-wing or rotary flying devices. Well, there’s now a UAV rolling ball that’s equally comfortable travelling across land, water or the Martian countryside. Meet GuardBot, a spherical drone that doesn’t fly. It rolls across the surface of the Earth or across water gathering data using sensors, including those […] Read more
Apply last fall’s missed nitrogen this spring
It’s not too late to apply last fall’s N this month, if you missed your regular 2019 window there are spring solutions available
According to the Agriculture Canada precipitation map, large areas of all three prairie provinces received 115 to more than 200 percent of normal rainfall in September and October last fall. Created on Nov. 1, the map was prepared in conjunction with Natural Resources Canada, Environment Canada and provincial and private agencies. It tells farmers what […] Read more
